Elberton in Georgia is called the ?Granite Capital of the World? for its wide availability of this natural stone. Currently, more than 150 sheds and manufacturing plants turn rough blocks of granite extracted from 45 area quarries into finished products including granite counter tops.

In fact, among all the uses of granite slabs, their use for counter tops is increasing multi-fold. The reason for this is that granite is a very durable material that last for several decades.

Most of the granite in Elberton comes from the Piedmont Mountains stuck between the Savannah and the Broad river. The granite slabs are quarried from the mountains by a process that involves cutting channels on all sides.

This provides large slabs of granite slabs that are called quarry blocks, which then have to be cut to size so that they can be used for purposes including granite kitchen countertops.

The blocks usually have an open face, horizontal lift holes are drilled along the bottom of the open face. The holes are then loaded with primer cord explosive and the resulting explosion helps break the granite from the mountain.

Another technique that is being used to create free the granite from the mountains includes using a combination of burning, drilling, and blasting. In this method, blasting may still be used to crack the granite slabs loose on the bottom. High speed drills are then used to penetrate the granite at very high speeds.

However, the most recent technique being used to quarry granite slabs includes the use of a diamond saw. The diamond saw is basically an engine pulling wire cable through a system of pulleys and return wheels. The wire is a steel cable on which diamond grit-impregnated beads are held in place by plastic spacers. The wire saw is then used to cut through the mass of granite.3

Granite is one of the top choices for kitchen countertop material because of the beauty and elegance of the natural stone. Synthetic materials are simply no match for granite's performance and beauty.